It is impossible to present TERI's (The Energy and Resource Institute) whole range of activities in an adequate way on this page, as TERI is a worldwide leading organisation with more than 700 permanent staff, branches in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, Guwahati, Himalaya, Tokyo, London, Malaysia and Washington DC and hundreds of projects. TERI has won numerous international awards and since 1998 is also operatings its own university.
To summarize, TERI is a worldwide research institute for energy and environment, focussing on microorganisms, climate change, biotechnology, bioresource management, environmental policies, sustainable building, water resources and social change & environment.
Outstanding projects include "Lightin a billion lives" which has the goal to supply one billion people in rural areas with solar lamps. Around 1.6 billion people worldwide live without electricity, out of which 25% in India. If kerose and paraffin lamps are being substituted by cost-efficient solar lamps, this will save 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The institute of microorganisms has developed bacteriae which degradate the pesticide endulsolfan, and others which destroy crude oil sludges. It is doing research about natural insecticides, bio-fertilisers and bio-fuels. The agenda also includes research about healthy vegetable oils for human and animal consumption. Outside of Delhi, TERI has a 36 hectare field campus.
The institute for sustainable building is doing research and consultancy about energy efficient construction and city development with a focus on developing and emerging countries.
Concerning climate change, TERI is collecting data and making use of climate modeling and GIS (Geographical Information System) to identify critical areas and intervene in a targeted way. At the moment there are numerous projects carried out with international partners.
About environmental campaigning, training and outreach, TERI is running community radio stations, events, school and university programs and visitor centres.
If you have specific expertise in any of the fields in which TERI is working, we can arrange volunteer and internship placements for you with TERI in India. A detailed overview over the fields of activitiy can be found on the
TERI website. The
Wikipedia entry gives a short summary.
A local project where volunteers and interns with knowledge in ecology can take part, is the renaturation of a small lake in New Mumbai. The lake is currently being transformed into a recreational area with educational visitor centre.
The lake, as all lakes in the highly overpopulated megacities of Mumbai, has been used as a dumping ground. Another source of pollution was the Hindu temple next to the lake where the believers donated milk and oil which entered the lake without any filtering. Further, during Hindu celebrations, thousands of people were throwing large amounts of organic materials "for the gods" into the lake.
TERI has fenced the area, and visitors now have to pay a nominal entrance fee to enter. The money is being used to finance the renaturation and maintenance of the area, however the amounts are not sufficient at the moment.
The lake has been cleaned and the brinks are currently being replanted. The milk and oil from the temple is now directed through a several-step natural filter system and for Hindu celebrations, TERI is providing an alternative water basin which will be composted after the celebrations.
The garden area has been redesigned into an educational garden where school classes are guided by a biologist. Amongst other plants, various kinds of bamboo are being shown. The visitor centre hosts an exhibition about the transformation of the lake and a class room where videos about environmental issues are being shown.
Volunteers and interns can assist with educating students, they can help with the renaturation of the lake, with the gardening, and with the implementation of new concepts how to address paying visitors to guarantee a self-sustaining funding for the project.
